Forex Inflows Through Direct Remittances Suffer Setback

Nigeria’s Efforts, including a number of actions taken by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to attract an inflow of foreign exchange into the country appear to be running against the tides as data are seen and analyses by Business A.M. show that direct remittances into the country have been on a downward journey.
In one glaring instance, the country’s total direct remittances crashed by as much as 48 per cent from $249.52 million in December 2021 to $130.12 million in January 2022.
The country’s foreign exchange earning capacity has suffered in recent years, not only from challenging domestic and global economic climates but also from defective policies and half-hearted measures which some have said should be put on the doorsteps of monetary authorities.
Nigeria has found it difficult to wean itself from decades of addictive dependency on foreign goods which takes a large chunk of its foreign reserves.
The inability to meet the high demand for foreign exchange has led to a raft of interventions by monetary authorities to try to either conserve the limited foreign exchange or seek to attract forex into the country